Rest in Peace, Tommy Ramone

Here today, gone tomorrow: last original Ramones member dies.

Tommy Ramone, founding drummer and final surviving original member of the Ramones, died yesterday at his home in New York after an unsuccessful battle with bile duct cancer. Originally recruited as the band's manager, Tommy – born Erdélyi Tamás in Hungary – wound up instead constructing their signature machine-gun rhythm, writing "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and much of "Blitzkrieg Bop," and producing a total of five of their albums over the course of the band's life.

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Formed in 1974 in Queens, the cultural and musical influence of the Ramones is hard to quantify without understatement – brash, intense, all-or-nothing music that echoed their collective attitude towards life, they stood out dramatically against the homogenized, hippified style of the day. With black leather jackets and explosive live shows, the band ushered in what would go on to become known as punk rock, a roll that would see them inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

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After his stint in the Ramones, Tommy worked as a producer with his credits including The Replacements' major label debut Tim. He also continued to perform, most recently in acoustic bluegrass duo Uncle Monk with longtime partner Claudia Tienan, a musical style he felt held a close kinship with the punk rock of his earlier years.